No. 3: George Norcross POWER 100

Mention George Norcross and you're unlikely to get a warm-and-fuzzy reaction from some.

Then again, you just might, when responding to a question like, “Who’s gonna get that done?”

Call him an old-school machine pol or a cunning wheeler-dealer, but this son of a blue-collar labor boss delivers.

Meantime, just because someone new – and hailing from the northern reaches of New Jersey – now holds the keys to Drumthwacket, that’s unlikely to stymie Norcross and his Camden County minions for long.

In the city of Camden, Francisco “Frank” Moran recently succeeded the golden-parachuted Dana Redd as mayor. That prompted an NJBIZ journo to muse over possible changes in municipal policy, triggering an immediate reaction from one political wag: “Come on — the mayor there is still Norcross.”

As for the rest of Norcross’ traditional southern turf — from the executive chairman’s suite at Marlton-based insurance brokerage Conner Strong & Buckelew to the board chairman’s office at Cooper University Hospital in Camden to the boardwalk casinos of Atlantic City — circumstances suggest even his staunchest rivals may come calling regularly in the months ahead. That’s because infrastructure and rail initiatives under consideration in Trenton and Washington are likely to make North and South adversaries want to bury the hatchet and play nice for a while.

After all, the busiest transportation corridor in the U.S. runs from New York through the entire length of New Jersey. Norcross’ brother, U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, D–1st District, should prove a key ally on those and other issues.